Barisal

Barisal, city, south-central Bangladesh. It lies in the delta of the Padma (Ganges [Ganga]) and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers on the Kirtonkhola, an offshoot of the Arial Khan River.

Incorporated as a municipality in 1876, it is a trade centre, most notably for rice, jute, and fish. It is linked by ship with Dhaka, about 73 miles (117 km) to the north, Chittagong, to the southeast, and Khulna, to the southwest. Barisal is home to several government colleges, including the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College, as well as dozens of private higher-education institutions. Barisal gives its name to a curious natural phenomenon known as the Barisal guns, thundering noises heard in the delta and apparently coming from the sea. The sounds have not been satisfactorily explained. Pop. (2001) 192,810; (2011) 328,278.

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main channel of the greater Ganges (Ganga) River in Bangladesh. For some 90 miles (145 km) the Ganges River forms the western boundary between India and Bangladesh before it enters Bangladesh at the northern edge of the Kushtia district as the upper segment of the Padma River. The upper Padma flows...

great river of the plains of the northern Indian subcontinent. Although officially as well as popularly called the Ganga in Hindi and in other Indian languages, internationally it is known by its conventional name, the Ganges. From time immemorial it has been the holy river of Hinduism. For most of...